We All Could Have Given Schwarzman's Speech (but wouldn't have)
Greetings from the home office, where it’s good to be back after a 30-hour whirlwind to Quebec City, for the North American Venture Capital Summit. Just as beautiful as it was on my last visit – 24 years ago when all I would eat in the French restaurants were bread and cheese (on the upside, I learned to say fromage and pan at a very young age). My primary role in Quebec was to conduct a pair of keynote interviews: One with Alan Patricof of Greycroft Partners and one with David Rimer of Index Ventures. Both seemed to go well, with Patricof stressing a “back to basics” mentality, and Rimer discussing how fast technology trends can shift (Rimer also put together a slideshow that included a wonderfully-obscene faux Economist cover). But this morning I want to briefly discuss the presentation I was not a part of. That would be the lunchtime keynote address by Steve Schwarzman of The Blackstone Group. Suffice to say, it prompted much discussion at the closing cocktails and on the plane-ride back to Boston. I’ve had an evening for reflection since live-blogging the speech, so here goes: It was either one of the laziest keynote speeches I have ever seen, or one of the most condescending.
